Australia: Tales from a Canadian Nomad: What's All The News Down Under

While I haven't been anywhere really exciting this past week or so that has been photogenic, it has been a very interesting week just the same. Here are the highlights...

I received my permanent residency - I know I mentioned in a previous post, but it's pretty exciting news for an immigrant...yeah, I'm an immigrant. Sounds weird to me too.
I was offered a permanent position with my employer - they want to keep me forever. I'm quite certain I won't stay forever but it sure is nice when someone wants you forever anyway
I got a raise with the permanent offer so I've been bumped into the next pay level, which is always good. It's just a few thousand extra per year, but it all counts...and I think it is retroactive to the day they granted me permanent residency as that was the date on the offer. I love windfalls.
I went out to a cocktail party on Saturday night at a friends and while I was searching for her flat, I happened along the wrong address. I thought I was at unit 4/45, but I was at unit 4/43...I went in through the gate, and the blinds next to the door were closed except for the bottom 18 inches...so I peeked under to see if it looked like a party going on and I recognized anyone. Um...not so much. All I saw was a naked man walking into the kitchen, penis and all...so I got the hell out of there in a hurry before someone called the police on a peeping tom - me!
the cocktail party was a precursor to the bars - we went to the Rock Bar and then to the Casino when that Rock Bar closed. The casino closes at 4am, so it's a popular after hours location. I hung out outside most of the time on the patio, gorgeous night and happened to meet someone that I chatted with much of the night.
that someone came home with me...I won't say more...I don't kiss and tell!
one of my co-workers is off on sick leave due to a spider bite on her butt...we believe she was bitten by a white-tail spider, very poisonous and tissue damaging so she had to get surgery to clean out the area of dead tissue and now she is recouperating at home.
the heat of the summer has finally broken and the temps have been about 28-32C by day and 12-15C by night - my favorite temperatures! We may get another wave of +40C but it seems like we're on our way to autumn...lovely autumn...
I'm hoping to go camping this weekend with friends to Ormiston Gorge where there is a lovely swimming waterhole and lots of great hikes. It's finally cool enough to hike again, so I can't wait to get out there.
I'm redoing my garden finally. I ordered a timer for my hose to take care of it when I go away or forget to water back in November and it FINALLY arrived last week. So I ripped out all the old plants, added some new mulch and have spent the week soaking the soil again.